JCPSLP Vol 14 No 1 2012

Professional issues

Interprofessional clinical placement involving speech pathology and counselling psychology Two students’ experiences Natalie Ciccone, Lynn Priddis, Amanda Lloyd, Deborah Hersh, Ashleigh Taylor, and Georgina Standish

Interprofessional education Interprofessional working is considered important in providing “safer, more effective, more patient centred and more sustainable” (Dunston et al., 2009, p. 7) health services. To achieve this interprofessional education (IPE) has been identified as an important inclusion within higher education health courses in order to graduate students with interprofessional practice capabilities (Dunston et al., 2009). Educational institutions recognise the need for collaboration between health professions with the belief that greater collaboration during training will increase teamwork between professions within the health system. Shared learning is thought to reduce “rivalries and misconceptions about respective roles and responsibilities” (Cooper, Carlisle, Gibbs, & Watkins, 2001, p. 229) that can emerge when professions work together, and Lumague et al. (2006) reported IPE can facilitate students’ ability to work collaboratively. IPE aims to improve communication between health professionals, knowledge of other professions, and trust between, perceptions of, and attitudes towards professionals from different disciplines. Curran, Sharpe, Flynn, and Button (2010) highlighted the benefits of interprofessional education activities for pre-licensure health profession students. They reported that IPE increases students’ knowledge of other professions facilitates the development of a positive attitude towards other professions, and contributes to students’ ability to communicate and work with individuals from a different profession. While systematic reviews suggest interprofessional clinical placements facilitate the development of interprofessional knowledge (Nisbet, Hendry, Rolls, & Field, 2008), the majority of undergraduate IPE learning opportunities involve small group teaching, case studies, problem-based learning, role play, self-directed learning, and experiential learning (Cooper et al., 2001). In a systematic review of interprofessional learning involving medical students and at least one other profession, Remington, Foulk, and Williams (2006) concluded individuals’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills, across a broad range of clinical areas, can be changed through participation within interprofessional experiences that involve both clinical training and teaching on interprofessional care. In a review of interprofessional literature on student-based IPE experiences, Davidson, Smith, Dodd, Smith, and O’Loughlan (2008) found only 25 articles that involved clinical education. Of these, the time within the clinical experience ranged from 2.5 hours to 9

This paper examines the interprofessional learning of a speech pathology and counselling psychology student in an interprofessional placement within an institution of the Department of Corrective Services in Perth, Western Australia. The institution is a pre-release centre that promotes rehabilitation and community reintegration in which up to six women are able to have their children, aged 0–4 years of age, live with them. The students provided a program to the mothers to facilitate development of a healthy mother–child relationship and the children’s communication development. This paper utilised qualitative descriptive analysis to explore two examples of student learning and found perceived growth in the students’ clinical skills, their understanding of the other profession, and the concept of interprofessional collaboration. While students experience growth in a range of placements, the journey described in this paper is unusual in both the nature of the student collaboration and the placement itself. The research highlights the importance

This article has been peer- reviewed PROFESSIONAL MOTHER–CHILD RELATIONSHIP SPEECH PATHOLOGY Keywords CORRECTIVE SERVICES COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY INTER­

of joint clinical placements in the development of interprofessional collaborative relationships. Introduction

Natalie Ciccone (top) and Ashleigh Taylor

Speech pathologists and counselling psychologists typically work together in primary and community health settings. However, information is not readily available on the experiences of students, from both professions, working together within interprofessional clinical placements. This paper brings deliberate, detailed focus on the experiences of a speech pathology and a counselling psychology student, in order to capture the impact on, and importance of, the placement for them, both during the placement and afterwards. In doing so, it explores the value of such placements in developing collaborative working practices.

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JCPSLP Volume 14, Number 1 2012

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au